ADRIAN’S POV

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    “What are you talking about? Someone sent people to kill you and your family?” I asked, still struggling to wrap my head around everything I had just heard from Olivia.

    Her words didn’t feel real. The moment they left her mouth, my chest tightened, like my body was refusing to believe her. I stared at her, waiting for her to exin, but all I got in return was silence. She simply stood there, her gaze fixed on me.

    It wasn’t just staring – no, it was deeper than that. It felt like she was searching for something in my eyes, like she was peeling me apartyer byyer, testing if I was lying, if I was strong enough to hear the truth, or maybe if I was even worthy of knowing it. Whatever it was, it made me uneasy, like I was standing naked under a spotlight.

    “This isn’t the right ce to talk about it,” she finally said. Her voice carried a sharp edge. The hatred inside her hadn’t disappeared, it was still there, just below the surface but her tone was heavier now, more guarded.

    I frowned. “This guys…” I jerked my chin toward the armed men standing watch. “It doesn’t look like they’re done with whatever they’re nning. So to me, it looks like we’ve got nothing but time for you to exin.”

    Her lips curled into something close to a sneer, sarcasm dripping from her expression. She turned fully to me, her eyes narrowing. “And how do you expect us to talk about something like that in a situation like this? Huh?” Her voice rose slightly.

    The bitterness in her tone cut deeper than the actual words. I wanted to argue, to tell her that every secret she kept only put her and her boy in more danger. But before I could open my mouth, she added, her voice dropping into something softer, more resigned, “We don’t even know if we’re going to leave this ce alive.”

    I leaned toward her, my voice firm, leaving no room for doubt. “Rx. You and your son are going to leave here alive. In fact, everyone here will.”

    She blinked, taken aback by the sheer certainty in my tone. For a second, her sharpness faded, and all I saw was confusion written across her face. Her eyebrow arched, suspicion creeping back in. “And you expect me to believe you?” she asked, her voice tinged with disbelief.

    “Yes,” I said without hesitation. “I give you my word on it. That was what I was trying to tell you the moment I saw you, when you started crawling away slowly with your son. I wanted you to know you didn’t need to run. I’ve got this under control.”

    She hesitated, ncing at her boy for a heartbeat before looking back at me. The fight in her eyes dimmed slightly, though it didn’t vanishpletely. “Okay,” she muttered. “Let’s say I do believe you. How exactly do you n on getting us out of here safely?”

    –

    That was the question I’d been waiting for the moment she shifted from skepticism to possibility. I straightened a little, lowering my voice so none of the guards nearby could overhear.

    “Well,” I began, “before they brought me over here and took my phone, I managed to make contact. I called themissioner directly and exined what was happening. I also got a message through to Dan. So right now, I’m damn sure both the police and my boys are already on their way here. And once they arrive?” I

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    leaned back smirking despite the throbbing pain in my head. “Every one of these bastards is going straight to jail.”

    I tilted my head toward the man across the room, the same one who had swung his weapon against me earlier. Even now, I could see him standing there with that smug, self–satisfied grin stered across his face. He thought he’d won. He thought he was in control.

    But he was wrong.

    “Especially that one over there,” I continued, my voice cold now,ced with venom. “The one who thought it was funny to hit me with his gun. I want to see him dragged out of here in cuffs, his face pale, his cocky smile wiped clean. I want him to feel what it’s like when the tables turn.”

    Almost instinctively, my hand went up to my head. The bleeding had slowed, crusting into an ugly line across my scalp, but the pain was still sharp like someone had split my skull open with a de. Every throb reminded me of what that man had done, every pulse of pain fueled my anger.

    And in that moment, I told myself he was going to pay forying his filthy hands on me.

    “Now it’s only a matter of time. All we have to do is wait patiently. That’s why I’ve been calm, and that’s also why I said this is the best time to talk about it, because neither of us is busy in a situation like this,” I added, trying to make my voice sound as steady as possible.

    I thought that when she heard me say help ising, her face would light up, maybe even show the tiniest spark of relief. But Olivia didn’t even blink. Not a smile, not a shift in her expression. It was like she had built an iron wall around herself and nothing I said could slip through. Even when I gently asked her to tell me about her past, about what had happened to her she just rolled her eyes in that dismissive way that cut deeper than any words could, then tightened her grip on Charlie and dragged him closer to her side, as though protecting him from me.

    The rejection stung. I clenched my fists at my side, willing myself to keep calm. “Why are you ignoring me? Can’t we at least talk?” I asked, trying to keep my tone from sounding desperate, though I could hear the faint crack in my own voice.

    Her head snapped toward me, and the venom in her eyes returned full force. “Don’t you have a wife and child to worry about instead of trying to speak to me?”

    Her words hit me like a bucket of cold water. A wife? A child? For a second, my mind froze. What was she even talking about? Thest time I checked, I wasn’t married, and as far as I knew, I didn’t have a child.

    My chest tightened. Could she possibly mean… Isadora?

    I remembered the day, years ago, when Isadora had stood in front of me with that smug look on her face, announcing that she was pregnant with my child. Olivia had been there. She had witnessed it. But she never knew the truth that it had all been a lie, a maniption that cost me more than I could ever count.

    I swallowed hard, meeting Olivia’s using eyes. “There’s no ring on my finger, Olivia. I’m not married. And as for a kid…” I paused and nced at Charlie, who sat quietly, too young to fully understand the tension but old enough to sense the storm brewing between the adults. “…I might have a kid, but I don’t know yet. And if I do, he’s sitting right in front of me.” I tilted my head toward Charlie, my voice softening for the boy’s sake.

    Olivia’s lips curled into a bitter half–smile. It wasn’t a smile of amusement – it was sharp, cutting, designed to

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    wound. “So you’re also going to deny your little affair with your mistress, Isadora?” she spat. Her eyes darkened as her grip around Charlie tightened protectively. “And wasn’t she pregnant for you? It’s been over five years, so I’m sure the baby is all grown now.”